Missouri State briefly closes building after threat

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri State University locked down a campus building after a threatening e-mail from a 30-year-old student, but found no weapons or explosives and reopened the building after about 45 minutes, officials said.

Police said Christopher Suttles was arrested on suspicion of making a terroristic threat after a language professor who received the e-mail alerted university security and Springfield police, police spokesman Grant Story said.

Craig Hall, home to the College of Arts and Letters, was locked down for about 45 minutes while police and campus security searched for possible explosives or other threats. Nothing was found and classes resumed, Missouri State President Michael Nietzel said.

Nietzel said the police and security response was effective. He said the threat was a possible ripple effect of this week's shooting massacre at Virginia Tech.

"It was broad threats against people of various ethnic backgrounds," Story said. He declined to be more specific about the e-mail, which was received by a languages professor and the head of the modern languages department around 7:15 a.m.